HELLO HOBBIT ARE YOU THERE?

The Hobbit

Out doing press for "Splice" which he produced, director Guillermo del Toro tells Coming Soon that the "Lord of the Rings" prequel is still "not greenlit".

Why? The MGM legal tangles are still very much to blame. del Toro says "We’ve been caught in a very tangled negotiation. There can not be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved. They do hold a considerable portion of the rights."

The filmmaker also confirmed that they've literally only spoken once about shooting the saga in 3D and it isn't part of the plan right now. He has however been on the project for two years now and is "very, very prepared for when it is finally triggered."